The Bushwhackers As The Sheepherders In The WWF

[The Brain]

At the end of 1988 The Bushwhackers arrived in the WWF. They were a comedy team know for their unorthodox ring style and crazy antics. There was the Bushwhacker march, they constantly licked each other and the fans, regularly bit their opponents on the ass, and were always eating sardines. They were just a bizarre fun loving team that the fans loved. What a lot of WWF fans didn’t realize was these happy go lucky New Zealanders had a much darker past. For many years The Bushwhackers wrestled in other promotions and were known as the Sheepherders. They had a reputation as the most violent and bloodthirsty team in wrestling. Anyone that knew of the Sheepherders found their transformation into the Bushwhackers to be a shocking one. My question is how you think the Sheepherders would have fared in the WWF compared to the Bushwhackers.

I’m going to look at this from two different points of view. First let’s imagine the Bushwhackers debuted as the Sheepherders. We would have never been introduced to the crazy Bushwhackers and instead been introduced to a new heel team. Instead of feuding with the Bolsheviks, Rougeau Brothers, and Beverly Brothers over the years they would have worked with The Rockers, The Hart Foundation, and maybe even a title feud with Demolition. As the comedy team The Bushwhackers were rarely involved in major storylines and were never taken seriously as title contenders. During their entire WWF run I only remember them getting one title shot which was against the Nasty Boys on Saturday Night’s Main Event. That’s what happens to wrestlers with comedy gimmicks. I think the more violent and aggressive Sheepherders would have probably had more success and more high profile storylines.

As interesting as feuds with the Rockers and Demolition sound to me I think I like a different idea better. Have the Bushwhackers debut as they did and develop that crazy reputation the fans came to know and love. Keep them as fan favorites for years against all those same heel teams. Then after a few years, ideally 1993 in my mind, have them turn heel and go back to being the Sheepherders. They could cut a promo saying how they’re tired of being a joke and after five years of marching around like morons it was time for them to return to their roots. This could have been a pretty shocking turn as most WWF fans only knew the Bushwhackers and not the Sheepherders. I think most people would have been pretty shocked to see the lovable Bushwhackers suddenly become so violent. I say 1993 because I feel the tag division was starting to weaken at that time. There were still some great teams around, especially compared to recent years, but there didn’t seem to be as much focus on tag teams as years past. A heel turn sometime during the summer could have set up an interesting tag title match against the Steiner Brothers at SummerSlam. That could have been a hard hitting match and with the unexpected heel turn really added some intrigue to the normally irrelevant Bushwhackers. They didn’t need to win the titles. I just think it could have been something fresh. For years the Bushwhackers were just kind of in the background so it would have been interesting to see them in this new role. After a feud with the Steiners they could have moved on to the Smoking Gunns and eventually the Headshrinkers after their face turn in 1994.

This was just a thought that popped in my head last night and I was curious to read some other opinions. What do you think? Would you have liked to see the Bushwhackers as the Sheepherders in the WWF? If so would you have preferred they debuted as the Sheepherders and we never knew the Bushwhackers or they debut as the Bushwhackers and eventually turn to the Sheepherders?

 

[daddyJ_t]

i believe it wouldve worked. they did it years down the orad with the dudleys... the glasses and the stuttering them bamn here comes the tables and tlc. it wouldve worked with the bushwackers

 

[HBsam31]

Hey Brain, do you remember the names of the wrestling magazines that you could buy at bookstores and grocery stores back then? There were a few different ones. Anyway I read those magazines like crazy and had read about the heel Sheepherders. I always wondered why they didn't just keep them the same. The thing is though, and this is why I like The Brain's idea, The Bushwhackers were popular. They got a consistently good crowd reaction and little kids loved them. Bringing them in like that and turning them could have been pretty good. They should have went all the way with it too, and when they finally did turn make it brutal. They could have been the top heel team at that point, and I am sure had a couple tag title runs.

 

[TheSoulTaker]

I knew when I read the title of this post it was you Brain. Living in Louisville KY I saw the Sheepherders many times at the old Louisville Gardens (bell time 7:30 Dave brown would say) They were a very brutal violent team from New Zealand. They pretty much looked exactly the same when they went to the WWF and it was shocking the total 180. Didn't they have a third member running around with them waving the NZ flag? Long haired bleach blond named? Johnny Ace?

 

[matman8540]

I agree with you Brain. My future ex-wife thought that they were adorable. I used to chuckle at her, and used the quote Bill Cosby used in his standup movie "Himself"; "These are just two old people trying to get into heaven.". The worst was one time on SCW (Southwest Championship Wrestling), when they absolutely destroyed Bobby Jaggers. The man had a full crimson mask after the beatdown he took.

 

[The Eighties]

I've never actually seen a Sheepherders match but I've read about the gimmick, I honestly am curious as to what Vince saw in that act that made him feel they were ideal as a comedy team, I mean it worked but as you say it was a 180.

The one question I'd have over whether the heel version could have worked in the WWF is over whether they would have been allowed to be as brutal as they'd need to be to get the gimmick over.

 

[jpickens]

If they debuted during the attitude era then the answer is yes but they came in at the tail end of the rock and wrestling era and allot of heels that were brutal had to tone it down example being Kamala.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

If they debuted during the attitude era then the answer is yes but they came in at the tail end of the rock and wrestling era and allot of heels that were brutal had to tone it down example being Kamala.

Another one who can't read. Brain's idea has them debuting as lovable faces and turning heel years later. Your concern about timing makes no sense, unless you ignored what he wrote and simply made an assumption based on the title of the post.

Great idea, Brain! I thought the Bushwhackers were perfect for the late 80s era. The WWF product was kid-friendly and very colorful, where heels were wrestlers who cheated or did dishonorable things...but were not necessarily monsters to be feared. Honky Tonk Man and Ted Dibiase, as opposed to Kane and Papa Shango. Kids were into low- and mid-card talents because of marketing and props and crowd-friendly gimmicks. Junkyard Dog, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Bushwhackers....these guys didn't have to be anywhere near a title match for the kids to love them. They had merchandise that was always seen in the crowd (foam 2x4s, etc) and they got a great reaction from the live audience (licking the kids' heads, dancing in the ring, "Hoooo!"). It was a great show back then. Not everyone had to be "pushed" or "buried" or anywhere close to being champ. There was PLENTY of room for supporting characters.

However, around 1993, that started to change. Hulkamania leaving changed WWF and the kid-friendly stuff leading to a Hogan/Mega Heel main event went away...the perfect formula had to be adjusted. I agree that at that time(1993), a Bushwhackers heel turn would have worked. Kids who loved them would be older and not be so heartbroken. Younger kids wouldn't care so much, as the Bushwhackers weren't as hot by then and older fans would have found it interesting.

Great idea and the perfect timing suggested. Good job, Brain!

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

I never really saw the brutal version of the Sheepherders. They were in NWA/WCW for a little while feuding with The Fantastics (nothing special in those bouts), but I think the truly nasty matches were earlier than that. The thing is that I never saw anything in the Sheepherders talentwise to make me think they were anything special, and it was the Bushwackers that were the superior version of the team (again, not having seen their older UWF/AWA/CWA matches).

I think the problem with the idea is that if these guys were really that vicious in the ring, they still would've been toned down in WWF 1993. At that time, it was still a Rock N' Wrestling 80s style promotion. My memory is a little bit hazy but I think the turning point where I really saw an uptick in the violence in the WWF was either the Bret Hart/Diesel Survivor Series match, or the Shawn Michaels/Mankind Mind Games match.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Back then, when WWE hired a wrestler from a rival organization, they were never allowed to perform under the name used with their former employer. I figured that even if the old company hadn't copyrighted the name, Vince McMahon didn't want to acknowledge a wrestler's past in any company but his own. (One notable exception: Dusty Rhodes)

But the Sheepherder's transition to WWE rings was still a surprise since their images were completely altered. I'm old enough to remember that the Sheepherder's were supposed to be nothing but vicious brawlers. Once introduced as the Bushwhackers', it was hard to believe they had ever been bad guys. Yes, they were still brawlers with no science in their approach, but all the "loveable" garbage disappointed me.

Really, the only thing good about the new incarnation was their name. After all, what would you be more afraid of, a bushwhacker or a sheepherder? In practice, the latter was the more bloodthirsty. Go figure.

I would have enjoyed having them come in as good, and then go bad. Their old attitude worked; why not use it?

 

[MrMojoRisin]

The Sheepherders would have been considered violent for ECW. They were THAT hardcore. There's no way that they could have ever brought THAT act to the late 80's WWF, and I don't know that they're ever as successful as toned down heels for the national scene. They had been around for quite a while by that point (a couple decades I think), and the wear and tear had taken it's toll. They probably extended their careers by several years as well as their quality of life later on by going the comedy route in the WWF (not to mention their bank accounts).

I don't know if your heel turn idea works for them though... at least during that era. You're talking more about a more modern, reality style turn that would have been confusing in the kayfabe era. If these guys weren't goofy, fun loving guys, then why would they be acting like it, and what roots are they returning to in a company that never acknowledged past history at the time? Remember that newcomer Harley Race or that young rookie Carlos Colon? A few years later once the curtain started getting pulled back? Absolutely... but by then both Butch and Luke were basically done (they were close to 50 each when they were done in the WWF - I think Butch actually was over 50 by then).

The Bushwackers were awesome in their Sheepherder days though. Go back and look at some of their matches with the Fantastics. Amazing stuff.

 

[dWs]

One of the Apter mags had a mock write-up for how they saw the WWF's first meeting with the Sheepherders. Paraphrasing, but it was something like:

"We bloody hate you Yanks and the bloody USA!!"

[WWF exec shows them a paycheck and asks them to be nice guys}

"Whoa! We bloody LOVE you Yanks the USA!!"

When I heard they were debuting, I remember watching an episode of Prime Time and telling my dad: "oh sh*t! These guys are crazy". I meant "crazy" in a bad sense, as I had seen them over in the NWA earlier in the year. Then Gorilla Monsoon finds them rolling in the hay at Busch Gardens and my dad (who had never seen them before) cracks up... thinking they're more a lovable Bugsy McGraw or George Steele kind of "crazy".

Always thought a return to heel form for the Sheepwhackers was in the cards for the WWF, somewhere down the line. But as they went in 1990, it seemed that would never be the case, as the Whackers were massively over.

That 1993 period seems appropriate. I could see them doing a "double-turn" with Doink. Doink's bananas or whatever ticks them off and they're fed up with being nice. The WWF probably would not have left them break kayfabe and say: "we're fed up with acting like clowns the past 5 years", as that would've de-valued the characters the WWF gave them.

Or go a year earlier, 1992, and have them take the place of Money, Inc as the team Jimmy Hart uses to steal the tag titles from the LOD. I liked DiBiase and (to a much lesser extent, IRS), but I never cared for their team. Have the Bushwhackers not only turn heel, but win the title? Whoa.

The LOD had left, temporarily, so the Natural Disasters could still be booked as the babyface challengers to the Whackers. As a bonus, they even had a history with the Whackers (Tugboat turning on them and their minor feud in the summer of 1991). Sure, it was a few months removed from that SummerSlam '91 match, but crazier things have happened. At the time, they were trying to use the motto "ANYTHING can happen in the WWF...and it usually does"!